18th. Kerfát, the fields of Kahaide.

19th. Kahaide, on the W. side of a great bend of the Senegal. On your road you pass the large village Jéri-lúmburí.

I will here add a list of the chief divisions of Fúta, including the Wolof country, such as Íbrahím communicated them to me: Lóre, Damga, Ferló, Nange-hóre, the centre of Fúta, Toró, Walbrek, Ndér, Úl, Niyán, Bachár, Kimínta, Ballindúngu Sálu, Jolóf, Kayór.

OO.—From Meshíla to Bakel. Very short marches.

 1st day. Samba-sandíggi, a wádí in the wilderness with Arab settlers.

 2nd. Dáwodá, a wádí.

 3rd. Nakhéle, settlement of Sídi Makhmúd of the Zenágha.

 4th. Dundumúlli; few settlers.

 5th. Sélefél, village of Fúlbe.

 6th. Tektáket, all along the valley Mesíla, or Meshíla, which runs to the Senegal.

 7th. Yóra, village or town of Fúlbe, Aswánek, and Arabs, dwelling together.

 8th. Abólli, a hamlet of Arabs, Welád Wési, and Fullán Rungábe, under the chiefs ʿOmár Weled Bú-Séfi. Wádi Mangol. Few mountains.

 9th. Swéna, a hamlet of Fúlbe with a few Arabs.

10th. Nahál; one day E. of the town Butti.

11th. Báyajám, a small hamlet of Fúlbe Rungábe and Hel Módin Alla.

12th. Tíshi, small hamlet.

13th. Melge, large village inhabited by Fúlbe and Hel Módin Alla.

14th. Village of Chermo-Makkam, who died some time before, when his son Baidal Chermo succeeded him.

15th. Dár Saláme, now Aswánek, formerly Hel Módin Alla.

16th. Kídibíllo, small hamlet. Aswánek.

17th. Nénechó. Aswánek.

18th. Waigílle, a middle-sized place of Aswánek. Country level, small hills, many trees, especially the kuddi. Always along the valley Mangol or Mesíla.

19th. Kábu, large place of Aswánek, on the point where the Mesíla joins the Senegal.

20th. Láni, considerable place of Aswánek, on the S. side of the river which you cross.

21st. Kotéra, a village of Aswánek, close to Senegal.

22nd. Gúchubel (Gútubé of the French), the point where the Falémé joins the Senegal. On the opposite side lies Yogúnturó.

23rd. Arúndu, a village of Aswánek, having crossed the Falémé.

24th. Yáferé, on the Senegal.

25th. Golme, Aswánek under Bundu.

26th. Guri ’l haire, Aswánek.

27th. Bakel.

Even beyond Bakel, towards Kahaide, the seats of the Aswánek, Cheddo, or Wákoré extend as far as the isolated mountain Waunde, which lies on the N.E. shore, and that is evidently the reason of this tract on the N. bank of the Senegal being called Gángara, or Wángara, the country of the Wákoré.

N.B. The routes from Wadán and Íjil to Sákiet el Hamrah, of which I have collected an itinerary, I refrain from communicating, as they have been in some measure superseded by Panet’s route. (Revue Coloniale, 1851.)

[60]Caillié’s Travels to Timbuctoo, vol. ii. p. 99, et seq. According to my information, Árawán seems to lie from Timbúktu about 15° W. from N.

[61]No merchant from the north can pass Bú-Jebéha, and certainly not Árawán, unless he be escorted by some well-known person belonging to the tribe of the Tademékket.

[62]The position which I have assigned to these places in the map which I sent home from Timbúktu, is slightly erroneous.

[63]De Barros, l. iii. c. viii. p. 220, Genná.—“Concorriam a ella os póvos que lhe sao mais vizinhos: assi com os Caragolees, Fullos, Jalofos, Azaneges, Brabaxijs, Tigurarijs, Luddayas.” See the chronological tables at the end of the preceding vol., p. 604.

[64]I have not been able to make even a short vocabulary of the idiom of these people. I only succeeded in making out two terms which they use, “úmbay” (“how are you?”) and “éna” (“welcome”).

[65]From Dire, down the river towards Timbúktu, my informant indicated several places which neither I myself nor Caillié have mentioned on our passage down the river: Búram, a large village (Kóra, Danga), Semsáro (Koiretágo), Lenga, all on the south side; Segalíye, on the north side of the river; an ádabay, or hamlet, belonging to Búram, Éluwa, on an island; Hendibángo.

[66]Edinburgh Philological Journal, vol. iv. p. 35, et seq. There is no such district hereabouts as “El Sharray;” but I have not the slightest doubt that this name is nothing but a corruption of the term “e’ sherk,” with which the Moors of that region indicate the south. There are some inaccuracies in Scott’s account which might cause suspicion of his sincerity; and among these is the circumstance, that he mentions as living on the lake the Moorish tribes of the Érgebát and Sekarna, both of which live in the northern districts. But it is very remarkable that he should call that tomb by the name of “Saídna Mohammed.”

[67]I here add a short itinerary from Yówaru to Yá-saláme:—

1st day. Hasi Jollúb, with a settlement of Zuwaye Sombúnne.

2nd. A well.

3rd. Yá-saláme, a place of about the same size as Yówaru, on a backwater at a considerable distance from the chief river. From Basikúnnu to Yá-saláme, four days.

[68]On the south-eastern branch up to Jenni or Jenne (this is the Aswánek form), or Zenne (Zinne as the Songhay call it), or Jinne (the Bámbara form), lie the following towns and villages:—Bólay, a ksar or koira, Sildoy, Konne, Kóme, Isáka, or Móbti, Kúna, Sofára, Zinne.—Sofára, which lies halfway between Hamda-Alláhi and Jenni or Zinne, has a market every Wednesday and Thursday. The eastern side of Sofára is skirted by a small branch or creek of the Niger called Golónno, and on the eastern bank of the latter lies a village called Góñima.

[69]These particulars I obtained after having finished my manuscript map in Timbúktu.

[70]El Bekrí, p. 160.

[71]I here cannot omit to express my admiration of Mr. Cooley’s critical judgment, who, from the incomplete materials which he at the time possessed, arrived at the same conclusion in his researches on the Negroland of the Arabs. See especially p. 43.

[72]Journal of Leipsic Oriental Society, vol. ix. p. 527.

[73]Raffenel’s Second Voyage, vol. i. p. 223. seq.

[74]It would seem, from many indications, that this informant describes the country in the more flourishing state which it enjoyed some years previously to my visit to Negroland.

[75]Venture, Vocabulaire Berbère, ed. Jaubert, Appendix, p. 225.

[76]N.B. This itinerary was not made use of for the map of the western part of the desert, which I sent home from Timbúktu.

[77]On my MS. map I placed Agán wrong, giving it an intermediate position between Aftót and Asába.

[78]An interesting account of this district is given in Hodgson’s “Notes on North Africa,” p. 70, from the information of a slave in the United States.

APPENDIX II.

LIST OF THE ARAB OR MOORISH TRIBES SCATTERED OVER THE WESTERN PART OF THE DESERT, ACCORDING TO THE DISTRICTS OR NATURAL DIVISIONS OF THE DESERT IN WHICH THEY ARE SETTLED.

The original inhabitants of these regions, at least since the middle of the eighth century of our era, were the Berbers, especially the Zenágha, or Senhája; but these tribes, since the end of the fifteenth century, it would seem, have been pushed back, and partly conquered by the Arab tribes to the south of Morocco and Algeria, who either intermingled with them or reduced them to a degraded position. Thus there are especially four classes of tribes,—the free warlike tribes, ʿAráb, or Harár; the Zuwaye, or peaceable tribes; the Khóddemán, or Lahme, identical in the south-western quarter with the name Zenágha, the degraded tribes; and the Hárratín, or the mixed stock. The characteristic feature of these Moorish tribes is the guffa, or full tuft of hair; that of the Zenágha the peculiar fashion of wearing the hair called gatáya, as they cut the hair on both sides of the head, and leave nothing but a crest on the crown, from whence a single tress hangs down sometimes to their very feet, or they tie the ends round their waist.

The supposed ancestor of the Moorish tribes is Odé ben Hassan ben Ákil, of the tribe of the Rátafán, who is supposed to have come from Egypt.

I.—ARAB TRIBES IN BÁGHENA.

The Welád Mebárek (sing. Mebárki), divided into the following sections:—

Fáta, separated into the following divisions:—

Fúnti, separated into the following divisions:—

The following tribes are in a state of dependence upon them, or are, as it is called, their lahme, or their khóddemán:—

whose khóddemán are the following tribes:—

Next to the large group of the Welád Mebárek, are,—

The Welád Mazúk, living in the ksúr together with the Welád ʿOmár.

Then the Érmetát and the Náj; while in a degraded state are—

This is the place to mention a particular group or confederation of warlike tribes called “El Imgháfera,” or Megháfera, and consisting of the

I a.—ZUWAYE, OR MERÁBETÍN, IN BÁGHENA.

The Teghdáust, a mixed tribe, but considered as Arabs:—

Gesíma, living partly in Bághena, partly in El Hódh, and divided into the following sections:—

Tenwaijío, who collect the gum and bring it to the European settlements, separated into the following divisions:—

These four divisions live in Bághena, while the two following are scattered over the district called Ergébe, where the Tenwaijío are very numerous:—

Zemárik, separated into numerous divisions:—

Between Bághena and Tagánet live the Welád Lighwézi, the relatives, but likewise the enemies, of the Welád Mebárek.

II.—MOORISH TRIBES IN EL HÓDH.

El Hódh, is a large and extensive district, which has received this name, “the basin,” from the Arabs, on account of its being surrounded by a range of rocky hills, “el Kódia,” at the western foot of the eastern extremity of which lies Waláta, and near its southern foot Tishít, both of which belong to El Hódh. The N.E. part of this district, which some centuries ago was densely covered with small towns and villages, stretching from half a day S. from Waláta, to a distance of about three days, and being enclosed on the W. and E. by “ellib,” or light sandhills, is called Árik, and is rich in wells, among which the following are the best known:—El Kedáye, Unkúsa, Bú-il-gedúr, Nejám, Áwe-tofén, El Imbediyát, El Mebdúya, Bú-ʿAsh, Rájat, Teshimmámet, Tekiffí, Nwaiyár, Tanwallít, and not far from it, Aréngis el tellíye, and Aréngis el giblíye, Tunbuske, N. from the large well Nwál, mentioned above, El Beddʿa Ummi e’ Dúggemán, &c.

From Árik, S.W. as far as Mesíla, extends the district called Ajaúmera, to which belongs the famous well El Úggela, called “surret el Hódh,” on account of its being at an equal distance—viz. five days—from Tishít, Waláta, Tagánet, and Bághena. Besides these, some of the most famous wells of this district are Ajwér, almost at its northern extremity, Fógis, Bú-Derge, Bír el Hawáshar, Ajósh, Gunnëu, El Beʿadh, these latter near Ergébe. The N. border of El Hódh, stretching along the base of the kódia between Waláta and Tishít, is called El Batn. There are besides several districts in El Hódh called Aukár, a Berber name identical with Ákela, and meaning a waterless district, consisting of isolated sandhills. One Aukár, perhaps that meant by El Bekrí in his description of Ghánata, lies a short distance west from Waláta, near Tezúght; another district of this name lies between Tishít and Mesíla, to the north of Ajaúmera. I now proceed to enumerate the tribes settled in El Hódh.

The Ágelál, in several sections, viz.:—

Welád Áhmed, subdivided into the following divisions or “lefkhát”:—

Welád Músa, subdivided as follows:—

Welád Melek, subdivided:—

The Welád Mohammed of Waláta, in several sections, of whom a great part originates from Tishít, while the sheikh family belongs originally to the Bidúkel. Their present chief is ʿAlí Weled Nawári el Kuntawi, whose mother is the daughter of the sheikh of the Legás.

The Welád e’ Násir, very powerful, and divided into the following sections:—

Welád ʿAbd el Kerím Weled Mohammed el Mʿatúk, with Bakr Weled Senébe as their chief.

Welád Masʿaúd Weled Mʿatúk, subdivided:—

Welád Yáhia Weled Mʿatúk.

Welád Mohammed Weled Mʿatúk.

The Jʿafera, the “jim” pronounced like the French j in jour.

The ʿAtarís, here and in Bághena.

The Íjumán, divided into several sections, of which I only learnt the names of three:—

The Méshedúf, not independent, and, as it seems, of almost pure Berber origin, and a section of the Limtúna, being, most probably, identical with the Masúfa, a Berber tribe so often mentioned by the Arab writers, such as El Bekrí, Ébn Batúta, &c., as settled between Síjílmésa and Timbúktu. They are divided into several sections:—

The Lághallál, a considerable tribe, divided into five khomáis.

III.—MOORISH TRIBES IN TAGÁNET.

Tagánet is a large and well-favoured district, bordering towards the E. and S.E. on El Hódh, or rather the kódia encircling and forming El Hódh; towards the S.W., where there is a considerable group of mountains bordering on Aftót, by which it is separated from Fúta, and towards the W., or W.N.W., separated from Áderár by ranges of hills running parallel to each other, called “e’ dhelóa,” or “the ribs.” Tagánet—evidently a Berber name, contrasting as a correlative with the name Ágan—is divided by nature into two distinct regions, viz. Tagánet el káhela, or Black Tagánet, comprehending the southern part of it, and consisting of fertile valleys, full of palm-trees, nebek, &c., excellent for the breeding of cattle and sheep, but infested by numbers of lions and elephants, while it is fit for the camel only in the dry season; and Tagánet el bédha, White Tagánet, called in Azéríye, or the language of Tishít, “Gér e’ kúlle,” consisting of white desert sand, with excellent food for the camel, and with plantations of palm-trees in a few favoured spots, which contain the villages, or ksúr.

Of these there are three:—

Tejígja, four days W.N.W. from Tishít, inhabited by the Idáw ʿAlí and the Ghálli.

Rashíd, one day from Tejígja, W.N.W., in the possession of the Kunta.

Kasr el Barka, the most considerable of the three, two days W.S.W. from Tejígja, and three days from the mountain-pass Nufni, which gives access to it by way of Aftót, likewise inhabited by the Kunta, who are the travelling merchants of this part of the desert, and supply Shinghít, and all those quarters.

Besides these three ksúr, there is, at the distance of one day from Tejígja, and three days from Tishít, another plantation of date-trees, but without a ksar, called El Gobbu, or El Kubba, from the sanctuary of a Weli of the name of ʿAbd-Allah, and belonging to the Idáw ʿAlí.

As for the Arab tribes not settled in the ksúr, but wandering about in Tagánet, there are first to mention:—

The Zenágha, or Senhája, or Idáw-ʿAísh, a mixed Berber tribe, who form a conspicuous group in the history of this part of Africa, and have been the principal actors also in the destruction of the empire of the Rumá or Ermá. They are at present divided into several sections, all called after the sons and grandsons of Mohammed Shén, a fanatic man, who arose among this tribe a little more than a century ago, and usurped the chieftainship. His eldest son Mohammed, who succeeded him, left at his death the office of chief vacant, when there arose a sanguinary civil war between his brother Mukhtár, whose partisans were called Sheratít, and his eldest son, Swéd Áhmed, and his party, who were called Abakák, from the red fruits of the talha, on which they were obliged to subsist. The latter having at length gained the upper hand, killed all his uncles, and was succeeded after his death by his son Bakr, who is ruling at the present time. The chief of the Sheratít is E’ Rasúl Weled ʿAlí Weled Mohammed Shén.

Hel ʿOmár Weled Mohammed Shén, the Soltana kabíla of the Zenágha, subdivided as follows:—

Besides these, there are also the sons of Mohammed e’ Sghír, viz.:—

who have given their names to various sections of the great tribe of the Zenágha. In consequence of their intestine feuds, however, this tribe has sunk from the first rank which they occupied amongst all the Arab tribes; for, though decidedly of Berber origin, they are yet considered as Arabs, owing to the tongue which they now speak.

The Kunta, part of this widely scattered tribe, distinguished by their learning and their sanctity, and divided, as far as they live in Tagánet, into the following sections:—

Welád Bú-Séf, the most warlike tribe of the Kunta.

Welád Sídi Bú-Bakr.

Welád Sídi Haiballa (properly Habíb-Alláhi), subdivided:—

El Nogúdh.

Welád el Bah.

Érkabát, these latter being probably the tribe found, according to Scott’s statement, not far from the N.W. shores of Lake Débu, and who cannot be the Érgebát, as Mr. Cooley suspects, who never leave their homes in El Gáda. Else Scott never saw that lake.

Welád Sídi Wáfi, subdivided as follows:—

Welád Sídi Bú-Bakr el káhel.

Welád Sídi Bú-Bakr el bédh.

IV.—MOORISH TRIBES IN ÁDERÉR.

Áderér is a rather elevated district, composed of sandhills grouped round a considerable range of hills, as its name, meaning the mountain range, indicates, which is the same as that of the district lying between Ázawád and Áír, being distinguished from it only by a slight difference in the pronunciation. It is encircled towards the north by the awful zone of immense sandhills, called “Maghtér,” and towards the south by another similar, but less sterile girdle, called “Warán,” both these districts joining towards the east of Áderér, at a point called “El Gedám,” at the distance of six days from Wadán, in going from east to west:—Metweshtíye, first day; Máderás hasi, second; Amasít, third; Zwíri wén Zwemra, fourth; Wadán, sixth day, having passed a good many wells. Between Áderér and El Hódh, and separated from that district of El Hódh which is called El Batn, by a range of hills to the north of Tagánet, there is a very extensive valley, or valley-plain, called Khat e’ dem, running, as it seems, about east and west, along the northern foot of the ridge of Áderér, at the south foot of which lies El Hódh, with abundance of wells, and even a couple of ksúr, or perpetually inhabited villages. The following is a list of a few of these localities:—

Mochénge, shallow well, with a ksar belonging to the Gesíma. Bélle, well, and ksar inhabited by Bámbara (Aswánek?). These on the south side of the Khat, where there are a great number of shallow but full wells, of which the group called Khat el Moina is one of the most considerable. In the middle course of the Khat there is Ófaní, a large dhaye, or tank; Fetéle, Kébi, Zorúgo, all tanks; but the largest of these tanks is Úm el Medék, which lies on the road from the celebrated Bír Nwál to Wadán, then Twéshtair and El Bahéra, also large tanks; on the west side of the Khat there is the large well Tishti. The breadth of this celebrated valley, with whose excellency the wandering Arab is as much enchanted as a European is with the most romantic spots of Switzerland and Italy, is indicated by the distance of three days between the well Tálemist and the famous well Bú-Sefíye, on the road from Tishít to Wadán.

Áderér, according to the different nature of its various parts, is divided into “Áderér e’ temar,” and “Aderér suttuf.” In Áderér Proper there are four ksúr, or towns, the most considerable of which, and the only one known in Europe, is Wadán, a town smaller than Tishít, but at least, till recently, when it has likewise suffered from intestine broils, better inhabited than the latter, and was evidently so, even in the first half of the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese established here a factory for a couple of years. Wadán, as well as Tishít, was originally a place of the Azér, and the Azeríye is still the language of its indigenous inhabitants. It has besides, a considerable Arab population belonging to the following tribes:—

El Arzázir.

Idáw el Háj, probably the founders of the empire of Ghánata, a tribe of great importance in the history of African civilization, and divided into the following sections, as far as they live in Áderér:—

Áhel Sídi Makhmúd, the Soltana tribe, to whom belongs the chief of Wadán, ʿAbd Allah W. Sídi Makhmúd.

Idé Yakób.

Síyám.

Áhel el Imám.

While two other sections of them live in Ergébe, viz.:—

El Útetád.

El Idó-Gejá.

As for the Rayán in Wadán, they are the khóddemán of the Idáw el Háj.

The Medrámberín, one of the tribes of the Kunta.

Wadán has a pretty plantation of date-trees of different sorts, of better quality than those of Tishít, and the names of which are as follow:—Sekáni, Tennasídi, El Hommor, Tigíbirt, Owetérdel, Bézal el Bagra.

The town, composed of houses built of stone and mud, lies on the east side of the valley, on stony and elevated ground. Its population does certainly not exceed 5000, who supply themselves with necessaries from Tishít, as they do not seem to frequent in person the market of Nyámina, or other places.

Shinghít, a small place built of stone, the same size as the town of Dál in Bághena, two days S.W. from Wadán[79], which has obtained a great name in the East, all the Arabs of the western desert being called after it. Shinghít, situated in the midst of small sandhills, where a little salt is found, has a handsome plantation of date-trees, where the tíggedirt and the sukkán are produced. It seems to have no Negro population, all the inhabitants being Arabs belonging to the following tribes:—

Welád Jáhé ben ʿOthmán, divided into the following sections:—

Átar, a well inhabited little town or ksar, said by some to be larger than Shinghít, situated two days nearly E. from the latter place, the track descending along the district called El Ós, where date trees and water are met with in several spots. Átar lies at the foot of a kódia, where the water collects, feeding a small plantation of date trees. No negroes.

Ojúft, a ksar not so well inhabited as the two foregoing ones, two days S.E. from Shinghít, and one from Átar S.S.W., likewise with a palm grove. Its principal inhabitants are E’ Smésid or Smásida, Zwaye. The inhabitants of Ojúft, with the exception of the Smásida, do not travel, but receive every thing by way of Kasr el Barka, where the people carry on some trade.

Besides the Arab tribes mentioned as living partially in the ksúr, there are still the following tribes to be mentioned as having their encampments principally or exclusively in Áderér.

The Tájakánt are regarded as belonging to the Himyáritic stock, and wear the gubba; they are a large tribe, and are of great importance in the whole commerce between the W. part of Morocco, or “E’ Sáhel,” and Timbúktu, which is entirely in their hands. At present, in consequence of their feud with the Érgebát, they are embroiled in a civil war among themselves, while with the Kunta they are at peace. I mention them here with regard to Áderér, though, as far as they are settled in this district, they have been greatly weakened, and part of them at least seem to have their principal abode in Gídi; they wander also in El Giblah. With Tagánet, with which place their name has been connected, they have nothing whatever to do. Tájakánt is the collective form, a single individual being called Jakáni, fem. Jakaníye. Their chief is the Merábet Mohammed el Mukhtár, an excellent man. They are divided into the following sections:—

E’ Rumadhín or El Armadhín, subdivided:—

ʿAín el Kohol.

Welád Sídi el Háj.

El Msaid.

Welád Sʿaíd.

Welád Músánni in two divisions, whose names I did not learn.

El Újarát.

Áhel e’ sherk.

Drʿawa.

The three latter tribes form at present one faction of the Tájakánt, the two preceding, together with the Merábet, the other. Altogether they are certainly able to bring into the field 2000 muskets, but they do not appear to be strong in cavalry.

The Sídi Mohammed, another division of the Kunta.

In general the Kunta and the Welád e’ Násir form one group in opposition to the Tájakánt, Idáw el Háj, and the Zenágha.

V.—MOORISH TRIBES IN EL GIBLAH AND IN SHEMMÁMAH.

The whole tract of the desert between Áderér and the sea, in a wide sense, is called Tíris, but in a proper and restricted one, this name is applied only to the northern part of it, the middle tract of it being called “Magh-tér,” and the southern one “El Giblah;” but care must be taken not to confound this district with what the Arabs of Ázawád and Timbúktu call “El Giblah,” with which very vague name, signifying in their dialect “the west,” they indicate all that part of the desert W. of them from Waláta as far as the sea. El Giblah is bordered towards the N. by Magh-tér, towards the E. by Áderér, towards the S.E. by El Abiár, and towards the S. by the Senegal; this more favoured southern tract, however, bearing the particular name of Shemmámah, is covered with thick forests of the gum tree while another portion of it, consisting of ranges of sandhills, is called Igídi or E’ Swéhel. El Giblah, as well as all Tíris, has no permanent wells, being extremely dry and sterile, but in the rainy season water is found just under the surface. A few of the most remarkable expressions of the idiom of the Arabs of the Giblah are:—sengetti, dukno; tefangurúttajimákhet } kohemmi; nísha: hasse; ʿaganát: busúsu; adelagán, dúnguri; tarer, hoy, a kind of vegetables; ghursh, hak; sofíf, cleverness; asúfaf, clever; likshásha, large calabash; bíshena, sába; mutteri, héni; tasáret, mat of reed; tarzay, pl. terziyaten, awéba; smángeli, I have forgotten, it has escaped me; selli, let this talk.

The Brákena, a large tribe, levying tribute on the harbours of Bot-hadíye, but at present greatly reduced, have partly become the khóddemán and lahme of the more successful Terárza (a name totally distinct from Tegháza). They are divided into several sections:—

Áhel Agréshi, the Soltana tribe.

Áhel Weled ʿAbd Allah, all the sections of the Brákena being derived from this ʿAbd Allah, son of Kerúm.

Welád Síd.

Welád Bakr.

Welád ʿAíd, formerly very powerful, at present “lahme.”

Welád Mansúr.

Welád Nurmásh.

Welád Áhmedu.

Áhel Mehémedát.

Welád Ágram, and perhaps others.

The Terárza, a powerful tribe, with Mohammed el Habíb Weled ʿOmár Weled el Mukhtár as chief, in two great sections:—

Welád Áhmed ben Damán.

Welád Damán.

The names of the several sub-divisions into which both these sections fall, I was unable to make out with certainty, with the exception of the name of that division of the former section to which belongs Mohammed el Habíb, they being called:—

Áhel ʿOmár Weled el Mukhtár.

The Elleb, a considerable tribe, who seem to have some sort of relation with the Terárza, while the Erháhela are in a state of dependence upon them.

The Welád Abéri or Abiyéri, a powerful tribe with a respected chief called “El Sheikh Sadíye,” who resides generally near the well Bú-Telimít, mentioned above as belonging to the district El Ábiár, and distant about seven days S.W. from Wadán and nine from Ojúft.

The Temékket:—

Idáw el Hassan.

Idejfága.

Ijéjebó.

Tenderár.

Teshímsha.

El Bárek-Allah.

Limtúna, who are likewise still numerous in Aftót, speaking Arabic. Other sections of the Limtúna, but who are now scattered over various portions of the desert, are, besides the Méshedúf: the Idé-lebó, belonging to the group of Shemman-Ámmas, the Idé-silli, the Udéshen, the Bedúkel or Ibedúkel, the Lédem, Twabér and the Welád Molúk.

VI.—MOORISH TRIBES IN MAGH-TÉR AND TÍRIS.

Tíris—a word meaning in Temáshight the shallow well—is separated from El Giblah, as I have stated above, by Magh-tér, a girdle of immense sandhills stretching almost from the sea shore as far east as five days beyond Wadán, and varying in breadth from three to five days. Tíris is very much of the same nature as El Giblah, being destitute of water in the dry season, but presenting sufficient herbage for the camel; however, the whole tract does not present one and the same character, the western part, or “Tíris el Khawára,” being much dryer than the eastern portion, which extends from the hasi “El Auj,” to near Íjil, and is called “Tíris el Firár.” In these two districts, there cannot be any permanent dwelling-places, but there are two localities worth mentioning, which occasionally become the scenes of much life and bustle. These are the harbour called Ágadír Dóme and the sebkha of Íjil. The former, being called by the Europeans “Arguin,” and seeming to be identical with the place called Welíli by the Arab writers, when visited by a European vessel attracts numbers of Arabs, principally of the tribe called Malzen, between whom and the strangers the Démesát act as brokers. As for the “sebkha” of Íjil, which was discovered it is said about sixty years ago, it seems to lie in an opening of the sandhills of Magh-tér, which have to be crossed in coming from Wadán as well as from Sákiet el Hamra, having, at some distance towards the south, a high mountain, on whose top some holy person, who was certainly an impostor, is said to have seen a grove of palm-trees. It lies about half-way between Wadán and Agadír, and has rich layers of salt of a good quality, but of black colour, probably of a similar kind to the fourth stratum in Taödénni, called “El Káhela;” but there being no fresh water nearer than a good day’s distance, at El Argíye, there is no permanent settlement here, and the Arabs belonging to different tribes, who come in considerable numbers for the salt, endeavour to get off as quickly as possible. The Sheikh Sídi Mohammed El Kuntawi, who generally has his residence near the well Sidáti, exercises a sort of supremacy over the sebkha, and levies a small tribute on those who carry away the salt. Besides the sebkha of Íjil there seems to be hereabout, perhaps nearer the sea, another sebkha, called Úm El Khashéb, and belonging to the Welád Haye Ben ʿOthmán, but its exact position I have not been able to make out. Among the Arab tribes wandering about in Tíris and Magh-tér, and the adjoining districts, first of all must be mentioned the Welád Delém, which tribe seems to be the most numerous of all the tribes of the desert.

Welád Delém being classed into two groups, at least by the Arabs of Ázawád, called Welád Máref and Delém el Áhmar. To the former group belong the following three tribes:—

Welád Molád, the most numerous section of the W. Delém, but ill-famed on account of their robberies, living also in Gídi. They are subdivided as follows:—

Welád Bú-Karsíye, to whom belongs the chief of the whole section, Hennún Welád Twéta.

El Hamáya, with a chief of their own, El Fádhel Welád Shwén.

E’ Sheháli, with a chief, the son of Allád.

Welád Sháker.

Welád Bú Hínde, who do not live in Tíris, but in Ázawád.

Sekárna, also in several divisions, the name of none of which became known to me, except that of the Áhel Déde, who are the Shiúkh.

Welád Sálem, with the chief, Mohammed Weled ʿOmár, living here or in Gídi.

To the Delém el Áhmar belong the following:—

El Ódekát, the Soltana tribe of the Welád Delém, whose famous chief, Áhmed Weled Mohammed el Fodél, died a few years ago at the age of 120, it is said. They are subdivided into the following divisions:—

Welád e’ Shíya.

Welád Mansúr.

Welád Alláb.

Welád Ermithíye.

Serákhna.

Welád Tagéddi.

Welád Shwékh.

Welád Bú ʿOmár, whose Shiúkh section are said to be the Áhel ʿOmár Weled e’ Sheikh Umbréhi.

Welád el Khaléga (?), with the Shiúkh section Áhel ʿOmár Weled Barka.

Welád Siddúm.

Lógora?

Welád Tédrarín in several (ten?) sections, all paying tribute to the Welád Delém.

Welád Yoʿaza (يعزَ), allied with the Medrámberín, most of whom live in Tíris. They are a powerful tribe, and fight, against the Welád Delém. They do not wander much, and are partly under the rule of Áhmed Sídi, Weled Sídi Mohammed, partly under that of Sidáti.

Tóbalt.

Lémmier.

Shébahín, the kinsfolk of those in El Hódh.

Welád ʿAbd el Wáhed.

El Arúsíyín, the allies of the tribe of the same name.

Imerágen, a very poor sort of people and of bad character, living near the sea-shore.

More exclusively, with regard to Magh-tér, are to be mentioned:—

Áhel Etfága.

El Khatát.

Welád el Háj Mukhtár.

VII.—MOORISH TRIBES IN EL GÁDA, AZEMMÚR, EL HÁHA, ERGSHÉSH, GÍDI, AND THE ADJOINING DISTRICTS.

These districts, which I treat in one chapter merely on account of the scanty and imperfect information which as yet I have been able to collect with regard to them, comprise a large tract of country in the N.W. quarter of the desert, and are of very different character. El Gáda lies between Tíris and Wádi Nún, being separated from the latter by the smaller district called Shebéka, and seems to bear almost the same character as Tíris. But it appears to be divided into two different portions, one of which is called “El Mirkh,” and the other “El Bédh.” Gáda in a certain respect forms part of the larger district called Azemmúr. The most celebrated localities of this district are: Meskór, Ázafay, Ágeshár, Míjik; from here N.E. Asumárik, Tasumárit, El Genáter, Zádenás, Bésharíf, Kedáye-Yetséllem, El Bellebúna, Stélet bel Girdán, Íshirgán, Agárzezís, with the sebkha Abána, Úm el Roesén, el Méhajíb.

The principal Arab tribes living in Gáda are—

The Érgebát, a large and powerful tribe in several sections, living, in “El Gáda,” as well as in Zíni, a district bordering on the E. side of El Gáda.

Welád Músa, ⎱
⎰		 these two the Soltana sections.
Éthalát,

El Gwásem.

El ʿAíd-ʿEsha or Áhel ʿEsh.

Welád Mohammed ben ʿAbd-Allah, and several others.

In Shebéka there are to be mentioned principally the Zergíyín belonging to the Tíkkena.

Yegút.

Wetúsa.

East from Shebéka, N.E. from Zíni, and N. from the Wádí Sákiet el Hamra, inhabited by the Welád Bú-Seba, there extends the large district called El Háha, principally inhabited by the powerful tribe of

El ʿAáríb, who are said to have as many as 1000 horse, and who are the enemies of the Duwémena and the Idáu Belál. They are divided into several sections, viz.—

Legerádeba, about two hundred.

El Bwadín, about the same number.

El Gwásem (the Shiúkh), about forty.

E’ Nwaiji, the Tolba.

Námena.

El Renáneba. ⎫
⎪
⎬
⎪
⎭		 (?)
Ziyút.
Sídi ʿAlí.
Medíni.
Mbáha.

Besides the ʿAáríb, the district of El Háha is inhabited by the Limtúna, especially the Idáu-Ídderen, and, according to some informants, the Berber element seems to predominate entirely.

El Háha appears to be limited towards the east by Gídi or Igídi, a girdle of high sandhills, about one and a half to two days in breadth, and rich in palm-trees, yielding a good sort of date, called “jéhe.” Gídi, at the distance of twenty days east from the principal encampment in Sákiet El Hamra, stretches W.S.W. in the direction of Tishít, from which place its south western end is separated by a naked desert or “meraye” of about ten days. Gídi has no regular inhabitants, the Tájakánt, the Welád Molád, and especially the Kunta, visiting it annually and staying some time in order to gather the dates.[80]

To the S.E. of Igídi is the district Érgshésh, separated from it by the smaller districts called Aftót and El Kart, the former one being a narrow girdle only half a day broad, and consisting of white and black soil, while El Kart, adjoining Aftót towards the west, is about one day’s journey in breadth, and exhibits an even surface covered with pebbles and much herbage. Érgshésh is a long and narrow girdle of sandhills, which stretches out in the direction from Tawát to Warán, and passing at no great distance to the west of Taödénni, joins Magh-tér, or rather Warán, at the S.W. end. This district, which is similar in its nature to Gídi, and not destitute of water between the high sandhills, although not adorned by nature with the equally graceful and useful palm-tree, is only from twenty to thirty miles broad, and is bordered towards the north by the smaller district called El Hank, consisting of black vegetable soil, rich in trees, and intersected by rocky hills or kódia. There is in this district a famous spot called Lemezarráb, with a large group of palm-trees, the fruit of which is gathered by the Kunta, who, however, leave these trees without any cultivation whatever.

On the S.E. side of Érgshésh lies the district called El Júf, to which belongs Taödénni, rich in salt, but almost destitute of herbage, with the exception of the more favoured spot called El Harésha, situated at half a day’s distance from Taödénni to the E.N.E., where trees are found. The miserable place called Taödénni, consisting of only a few houses (where, besides the Sheikh Zén, nobody will stay on account of the bad quality of the water), owes its existence to the desertion of Tegháza about the year 950 of the Hejra. I have spoken of the salt mines of Taödénni in the diary of my stay in Timbúktu: here I will only add that in Taödénni a black tobe purchases four camel-loads of salt or sixteen rús, worth each 3500 or 4000 shells in Timbúktu. Taödénni is distant ten days from Warán, going along Érgshésh; nine days from Bú-Jebéha; about the same distance from Mʿamún, W.N.W.; and ten to eleven days from Mabrúk, N.W., viz. (going from Mabrúk), two and a half days to the well Aníshay, five days to the old well called El Gátara, and three days more to Taödénni.[81] El Júf is bordered towards the north by the district called Sáfie, a sort of hammáda, with strips of herbage. In this district wander the Welád Delém, the ʿAáríb, the Áturshán, belonging to the tribe of the ʿAídde, and several tribes of the Kunta, principally the Ergágedá, and the Welád el Wáfi; the principal chief also in Érgshésh, Sídi Mohammed, is a Kuntí.

VIII.—DISTRICTS OF THE SAHARA BETWEEN ÁZAWÁD AND TIMBÚKTU ON THE ONE SIDE, AND EL HÓDH AND BÁGHENA ON THE OTHER.

Between Árawán and Waláta there stretches a waterless desert of ten days; consisting of isolated sandhills, between which very good food for the camel is found, and plenty of water-melons, sufficient to quench the thirst of man as well as of the camel. This district, which is nearly of the same character as Magh-tér, is called Ákela, and the Kóbetát mentioned above are principally wandering hereabout.

South of the Ákela the country is rendered more verdant and fertile by the Niger and its many backwaters, and there is one district especially noted for its pasturage, viz. the famous Rás el má, mentioned by me repeatedly, where Arabs, principally the Kunta and Berabísh, with the small remnant of the almost extinguished tribe of the Lansár, and the Welád Sʿaíd el Borádda, encamp occasionally, and where Zén el ʿAbidín, a younger brother of Sheikh Áhmed el Bakáy had for a long time his encampment. There is here also a small village of the Idélebó.

Between the Ákela to the N.E., the Dháhar Waláta towards the N.W., and Fermágha towards the S.E., there is the district called Eríggi, with a ksar, or small town, called Basikúnnu, mentioned in the preceding volume. Eríggi is the chief district of the Welád ʿAlúsh, a not very numerous but warlike tribe, which extends its forays over the whole of Ázawád, and is divided into two sections:—

The Welád ʿAlúsh are at present the principal tribe of a large group called Dáúd, whose elements I shall enumerate here together, though only a portion of the tribes are living hereabout, and most of them have been mentioned by me before, in connection with their respective districts.

El Dáúd, with Sheikh Swédi.

DÁÚD MOHAMMED.

DÁÚD ʿARÚK.

I shall here also enumerate the tribes composing the group called Ládem, with the Sheikh ——, son of E’ Shén:—

Before concluding this list of the Arab tribes, which would be enlivened if historical knowledge were not a thing almost unknown in this part of the world, I shall mention a few tribes who have founded something like an empire in the south part of the so-called desert:—

El ʿArúsíyín, about 600 A.H.

El Erhámena, who wrested the empire from Shenán el ʿArúsi.

Welád Bílle, who having succeeded to the Erhámena, became very rich and powerful, till, as the Arabs say, they destroyed their empire themselves, by provoking the wrath of the Sheikh El Mukhtár el Kebír, about sixty years ago, when their power was crushed by the Meshedúf and the Zenágha.

A smaller empire was founded by the Welád Bú-Faida, who had their principal seats round Kasári in El Hódh, N.W. from Bághena, till they were overpowered by the Áhel e’ Zenághi.

The Imóshagh have peculiar names for the Arab localities, calling:—

Gundám Sasáweli.
Árawán Eshíggaren.
Berabísh Kél-jaberíye.
Kunta, or Kuntarár Kél-borásse.
The ʿArab el Giblah Udayen (sing. Uday).

I shall here add an itinerary of the route from Wadán to Ághadír Dóme, or, as it is called by the Arabs, e’ Dákhela, which I omitted in the right place.

1st day, Selaurísh.
2nd. Shúf.
3rd. El Mórwesín, a kódia.
4th. Dómus, a good well or hasi.
5th. Tenwáke, an úggada, with good water in the rainy season, but brackish during the dry season.
6th. Encamp between Egjir and Rek el Mhón.
7th. Swéta, a locality encompassed by hilly chains or kódia.
8th. Tagazímet, a hasi, 7 fathoms in depth.
9th. Takeshtint, a hasi, 2 fathoms deep.
10th. E’ Dákhela. The two last days are short marches. The village Ághadír is said to contain from 50 to 60 huts of reed, inhabited by the Imrághen, the chiefs of whom are Weled Áhmed Budde Ébn ʿOmár and Mohammed Weled el Mréma.